Airplane Service & Faithfulness.

So, I was recently on a flight from Auckland to Wellington and back. What I was doing there doesn’t matter yet but I’ll tell you about it in a few days.

Point being, it’s been broadly publicised in my neck of the woods, how tight the domestic market for air travel has become.. blah blah, global recession etc etc. Read more here.

So, when your product becomes similar in cost to the other competitors in your market – all you have to build on, to generate return business, better loyalty and significantly better word of mouth sales.. is value.

I flew south with one airline and north with another. The first airline served a significant breakfast type snack, coffee, morning paper and inflight radio/tv entertainment. The second flight had no inflight music, nor tv, coffee/tea that was lukewarm and a ‘snack’ comprising of 2 pineapple lumps, 2 winegums and a jaffa. There wasn’t even a copy of the inflight magazine anywhere in our row.

The cost of each flight was the same within $5 dollars. In fact, the second flight was the more expensive one. Neither are advertising cut-rate travel options.

But I love to fly. So how I fly matters. The quality of service and environment. The provision of things that make the experience of flying worthwhile. The intangible, as well as tangible benefits.

So much so, that when on the same route today – I deliberately sought out the better flight. The pricing was still the same as the competitor, if not slightly cheaper. But my experience infinitely better. Similarly, had I wanted to go even further in the experiential goodness – the investment of a few extra dollars would have afforded me a slightly larger seat on a longer flight.

All this to say – it strikes me that we can so easily make the same investment in faith as we travel with Jesus. Full service, or lesser service .. the cost varies little – but the investment and commitment we make to the experience makes all the difference.

I do not want a short-changed experience – I long for the full service, faithful, accruing of airpoints that reflect a life of faith.

A message I heard recently about faithfulness and all sorts reflected on a significant passage of scripture for me = the words often said to the Israelites..“Now, go up into the land that I have shown you and take possession of it. Do not be afraid for I go with you”. The speaker drew a parallel in our response to this call of God when it comes on each one of us, in each unique way… we either respond as Zachariah did, with disbelief… or as Mary did.. with eager and intrepid fascination at how God would go about fulfilling his promises.

The response of faithfulness to God’s promised land, and our required activity in that process is the scary frontline of purpose and pleasure. God does not need us, but He delights in us, as a friend reminded me yesterday.

Therefore, in the midst of all that is promised, all that is still becoming the fulfilment of God, we stand with two choices. The full experience or the lesser option. The cost truly, is just the same. A Christ who makes all things possible, made sin where there was never sin, for our sake, that he might become the fullness of God’s promise to us and we then, having the choice to respond in kind – might grasp hold of the fullness of His faithfulness to us, with our own meager offering.

Faithful, saying, Yes Lord, be it unto me as you have said! Only to be made more faithful by living and breathing in the full acceptance and experience of Christ at work in us and through us. By our very obedience and faithfulness becoming the delight of the Lord’s hand.

Hence, these were my thoughts at 30,000ft… as I enjoyed the fullest service and experience there was to be had today, and all the while wondering, “how Lord, will you do this thing in my life? yet, may it be to me as you have said.”

I’m looking for…

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